Lock seal bag



NW Mi, 1% A. c. STRAYER 5 LOCK SEAL BAG Filed July 8, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet l 7 2 Sheets-Sheec 2 A. C. STRAYE R Filed July 8, 1937 QWN a Patented Nov. 15, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 8 Claims.

This invention relates to lock seal bags of the type disclosed in my Patent No. g a d on April 28, 1931, and particularly to the means for holding the bag closed.

In that patent, there was illustrtated a bag having front and rear walls, formed with a reinforced mouth portion or closing flaps, these flaps being adapted to be folded over upon the body of the bag and upon each other, and there were extensions or tabs extending from the rear wall or flap which were adapted to be folded across the ends of the folded flaps and against the rear face of the bag mouth, one of these tabs having a post passing through the folded flaps and having an aperture in its end through which a padlock could be passed. In this construction, the front flaps at their ends were attached to the inner ends of the rear tabs.

This structure was all right for small bags but when applied to larger bags could not hold them closed as securely as necessary nor prevent the discharge of small coins and further was not adapted for large bags.

The general object of my invention, therefore, is to provide means for locking relatively wide bags securely against any tampering with the contents thereof and particularly provide means whereby the bags, in addition to being locked, may be sealed.

A further object is to provide a sealing device which will extend across the paracentric lock of the flaps and which will prevent the opening of the lock until the seal is broken.

A still further object is to provide reinforcing metallic strips within the flaps of the front and rear walls of the bag and provide posts or other locking means attached to the flap of the front wall adapted to extend through the reinforcing strips thereof and through the reinforcing strips and flap of the other wall whereby these posts will be very-rigidly held in position and prevented from being removed.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of my improved bag open, the view being partly in perspective.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the bag closed and locked. I

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55 of Fig. 3.

Referring to these drawings, I0 designates the body of a bag which may be made of canvas,

duck, leather or other suitable material. This bag has a front wall II, a rear wall I2 and gussets I3 formed of two sections stitched to each other at I3a.

The inner face of the rear wall I2 has stitched thereto the preferably leather strip I4 which at its upper margin is folded over to provide a hollow or tubular flap I5 stitched to the body of the strip M at IE. This tubular portion I5 is laterally extended to form the elongated tubular tabs I1 and I8, each having a length slightly longer than the width of the bag. The strip I4 has at its middle a relatively large opening I9 defined by a grommet and on each side thereof the grommeted openings 20. The tubular flap I5 has also a middle grommeted opening 20 with two relatively smaller grommeted openings 2| in each side thereof. The tab I'I also has adjacent its free end a relatively large grommeted opening 22 and two smaller grommeted openings 23 on each side. The opposite tab I8 has a post 24 projecting therefrom and securely attached to the tab and two posts 25 on each side of the tubular post 24. The posts 25 are transversely apertured at 26. These posts 25 are designed to pass through the openings 2%), 2|, and 23, while the post 24 is designed to pass through the openings 22, 20 and Ill. The post 24 is preferably tubular to receive a detachable locking barrel 2'! containing a paracentric lock. The tubular flap I5 is provided adjacent its ends with grommeted openings 23. The front wall II has also attached thereto a preferably leather strip29 whose outer margin, like the strip I4, is folded over to form a tubular flap 30. The middle of this flap has a relatively large grommeted opening 3| and laterally disposed openings 32 while the middle of the portion 29 of the strip has grommeted openings 33 and 34 to register with the openings 3| and 32. It is to be understood that the grommets defining the large openings 20 and 3| and the small openings 2I and 32 pass through both thicknesses of the tubular flaps I5 and 30, and that the grommets defining the openings I9 and 33 pass through the leather strips and the corresponding canvas walls. The tabs I1 and I8 are likewise of double thickness and the grommets defining the openings 22 and 23 pass through these two thicknesses. The flap 3!] is provided adjacent its ends with the outwardly extending posts 35 each apertured adjacent its outer end, as at 36.

Disposed within the tubular flap I5 are two reinforcing members 31 each composed of a steel strip through which the grommets 28 pass.

The tubular flap 30 is also reinforced by two steel strips 38 through which the overturned bases of the posts 35 pass. The tabs I! and I8 are each reinforced by a steel strip 31.

In closing the bag, the flaps 29 and are disposed fiat against each other with the grommeted openings 33 and 34 registering with the grommeted openings 20 and 2| and with the posts 35 extending through the grommeted openings 28. The two flaps l4 and 29 are then turned down against the front of the bag so that the grommeted openings in the middle of these flaps will register with the grommeted openings I9 and 3| and the openings 2| and 34 will register with the openings 20 and 32. The flap I1 is then brought around on the back of the bag so that its opening 22 is in register with the opening 20 and the opening 23'in register with one of the openings 2|, and then the other tab [8 is folded over against the back of the bag and particularly against the rear face of the tab IT with its posts 25 extending through the openings 2|, 2E], 34 and 32 and with the tubular post 24 extending through the openings 20 I9, 33 and 3|. The paracentric locking member 2'! is then inserted into the tubular post 24 and locked therein by a key. After the key is removed, an elongated pin 39 is inserted through the apertures 26 in the pins 25 and extends across the front end of the paracentric locking member 27. This pin 39 is slotted at one end, as at 40, and provided with a head 3| at the other end and a sealing wire having thereon a seal is adapted to be passed through the aperture 48 to seal in place so that the pin 39 cannot be detached without breaking this seal. Padlocks may have their shackles inserted through the apertures in the posts 35 or sealing wires may be passed through these apertures and sealed. Thus the middle of the mouth of the bag and the ends of the mouth of the bag are locked to each other so that it is impossible to open the bag without breaking the locks or the seals. By reason of the double fold of the two flaps I5 and I4 and the protection at the ends of this double fold afforded by the tabs H and (8, it is impossible for any coin or other small object to be discharged through the mouth of the bag and it is impossible for any instrument to be inserted through the mouth of the bag which can pry this mouth open.

In my prior Patent 1,803,217, the ends of the closing flaps, which fold over against each other at the mouth "of the bag, are directly connected to each other by stitching at the ends of the flaps. One improvement which I have made consists in leaving the portion l5 entirely disconnected from portions 29 and 30 and connecting the front and rear of the bag by gussets [3 which extend to the lower edge of the portion 30 on the front of the bag and to the lower edge of the portion l5 at the back of the bag. Thus the bag may be opened to the full extent allowed by the gussets I3, and if these gussets are made of an accordian type, the bag may be expanded large enough for the insertion and reception of any package within the range of the bag and yet the bag will be securely locked at the top so that even a dime cannot be extracted. It will be obvious that this bag may be sealed by sealing wires and seals at the top, if desired, and that particularly the lock 21 is sealed in place by the transverse wire 39 and the sealing wire 49 which passes through the slot thereof. Many customers object to any kind of locks on bags of this character designed for holding large quantities of money, as they believe such locks can be opened. Such customers require seals and seals only, and this is secured by the use of the posts 25 with apertures for the passage of sealing wires and by the use of the posts 35 with apertures 36 for the passage of sealing wires. It is furthermore secured by the sealing of the middle lock by means of the seal on the pin 39.

These bags while particularly designed for transportation of money or other valuable object, are also adapted particularly to be used to enclose registration binders in elections, such binders being required in some of the States, as for instance, the State of Pennsylvania. Such bags must be capable of being locked and sealed and it will be obvious that the bag described herein is capable of being locked both by means of the paracentric lock 21 and by padlocks, if desired,

passing through the posts 35 with seals passing through the posts 25 and through the pin 39, or these seals may be used on the post 35 if desired. It is to be noted that the posts 36 have their bases inserted through the steel strips 38. This gives added strength and eliminates any give in the bag whatsoever that otherwise might permit the pulling down of the gussets and the abstraction of the contents of the bag.

It will be seen that the bag which is herein disclosed may be fully expanded at the top, which is impossiblewith the bag made in accordance with my prior patent for the reasons heretofore stated. Furthermore, I provide for sealing the bag with metal seals or provide for closing the bag by locks or/and by seals.

While I have illustrated certain details of construction and arrangement of parts, I do not wish to be limited thereto as obviously many changes might be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

While I have illustrated the post 35 as carrying padlocks, it is to be distinctly understood that this is merely to show that padlocks may be used on these posts. Ordinarily, however, these posts or pins 35 are long enough so that when the post is inserted through the bag, as shown in Fig. 3, it would be impossible to pull the flap over the pin or post 35. The end pins 35 are particularly important inasmuch as they hold up the gusset l3. Without these pins, the gussets could be pulled down under the flap and entrance gained into the bag.

It is also to be understood that the bags may be made without the paracentric lock and the bags sealed by posts 25 and, if necessary, seals to be applied to the posts 35.

What is claimed is:

1. A bag having a front wall, a rear wall and inwardly foldable gussets constituting end walls, the rear wall having at its mouth a closing flap foldable longitudinally upon the front wall, the front wall having a closing flap foldable longitudinally upon the front wall, the inwardly foldable end walls extending up to the junction of said flaps with the front and rear walls and the flaps being entirely disconnected from each other, both flaps having a plurality of openings registrable when the rear flap is folded over upon the folded flap of the front wall, the flap of the front Wall having outwardly projecting posts disposed laterally outward of said openings and adjacent the ends of the flaps and the opposed rear flap having openings through which the posts are adapted to extend when the flaps are folded upon each other, the rear flap having lateral 9,136,598 plurality of openings adapted to register with the registering openings of the front and rear flaps and the other of said tabs having a plurality of posts adapted to extend through said registering openings when the tab is folded back over the other tab and against the rear wall, certain of said posts having means for engagement by locking or sealing devices.

2. A bag having a front wall, a rear wall and inwardly foldable gussets constituting end walls, the rear wall having at its mouth a closing flap foldable longitudinally upon the front wall, the front wall having a closing flap also longitudinally foldable upon the front wall, the ends of both flaps being entirely disconnected from each other and from the gussets, both flaps at the middle thereof having a relatively large opening and on each side of this large opening two smaller openings, said openings being registrable when the rear flap is folded over upon the downwardly folded flap of the front wall, the flap of the front wall having outwardly projecting apertured posts adjacent its ends and the flap of the rear wall having openings adjacent its ends through which the posts are adapted to extend when the flaps are folded upon each other, the rear flap having lateral extensions or tabs at its opposite ends, one of said tabs having a large opening and two small openings on each side thereof adapted to register with the registering openings of the front and rear flaps, the other. of said tabs having a plurality of posts, the central post being hollow and open at one end and the two laterally disposed posts having apertures, the posts being adapted to extend through the registering apertures at the middle of the front and rear flaps when the last named tab is folded back over the other tab, and a removable locking barrel insertible through the large registrable middle openings and into said tubular post.

3. A bag having a front wall, a rear wall and inwardly foldable gussets constituting end walls, the rear wall having at its mouth a closing flap foldable longitudinally upon the front wall, the front wall having a closing flap also longitudinally foldable upon the front wall, the ends of the front and rear flaps being entirely disconnected from each other and from the gussets, both flaps at the middle thereof having a relatively large opening and on each side of this large opening two smaller openings, said openings being registrable when the rear flap is folded over upon the folded flap of the front wall, the flap of the front wall having outwardly projecting apertured posts adjacent its ends and the flap of the rear wall having openings adjacent its ends through which the posts are adapted to extend when the flaps are folded upon each other, the rear flap having lateral extensions or tabs at its opposite ends, one of said tabs having a large opening and two small openings on each side thereof adapted to register with the registering openings of the front and rear flaps, the other of said tabs having a plur-ality of posts, the central post being hollow and open at one end and the two laterally disposed posts having apertures, the posts being adapted to extend through the registering apertures at the middle of the front and rear flaps when the last named tab is folded back over the other tab, a removable locking barrel insertible through the large registrable middle openings and into said tubular post, and a locking pin insertible through the apertures in the posts on each side of said tubular post and when in place extending across the face of the locking barrel and preventing its removal, said pin having means whereby it may be sealed.

4. A bag having a front wall and a rear wall, each wall at the mouth of the bag being provided with flaps adapted to be folded one upon the other to close the bag, the flaps being provided each with three openings, the openings in one flap being registrable with the openings in the other flap when the flaps are folded upon each other and an element attached to one of said flaps and foldable over thereon and carrying medially'disposed hollow post open at one end and insertible through the middle openings of the flaps and carrying two laterally disposed apertured posts insertible through the lateral open-I ings in said flaps, a locking barrel insertible into the hollow post and having means for locking therein, and a sealing pin extending through the apertures of the lateral posts and across the face of the locking barrel to prevent the removal thereof, the pin having means whereby it may be sealed in place.

5. A bag having a front wall, a rear wall and inwardly foldable gussets constituting end walls, the rear wall having at its mouth portion a hollow leather strip attached thereto along one margin, to form a tubular fiap, the flap being laterally extended beyond the body of the bag to provide two tabs, the front wall of the bag having attached thereto a tubular leather strip having a length equal to the width of the bag, both of said strips being foldable longitudinally, each on its line of junction with the corresponding wall, the end walls extending to the junction of the strips with the front and rear walls of the bag, that portion of each strip attached to the bag and. the tubular portion of each strip being formed at its middle with a medial relatively large grommeted opening and on each side thereof with relatively smaller grommeted openings, the ends of the tubular strip attached to the rear Wall of the bag having two grommeted openings adjacent its ends and the ends of the tubular strip attached to the front wall of the bag having projecting apertured posts adjacent its ends and insertible through the last named openings, one of said tabs having adjacent its end a large grommeted opening and two laterally disposed smaller grommeted openings, the other tab having permanently attached thereto a hollow locking post insertible through the large grommeted openings of the flaps and having two laterally disposed posts insertible through the second named grommeted openings of the flap, and a locking barrel insertible through the central openings of the flaps, the large opening of one tab, and into the tubular locking post.

6. A bag having a front wall, a rear wall and inwardly foldable gussets constituting end walls and attached to the front and rear walls; a flexible strip foldably attached to the upper edge of the front wall and constituting a flap; a flexible strip constituting a flap and attached to the upper edge of the rear wall, both of said strips being disposed above the gussets and being free from attachment to each other, the strip attached to the rear wall having lateral extensions foldable laterally against the upper margin of the rear wall when the flap of the front wall is folded down upon the face of the front wall and the flap of the rear wall is folded down over the outer face of the folded front flap, said extensions overlapping each other when so folded; and locking means on the ends of the front flap and extending through adjacent portions of the rear flap when the rear flap is folded over the front flap; and locking means carried by one of said extensions and extending through the other extension and through both the front and rear flaps when folded over each other.

'7. A bag having a front and a rear wall, a hollow locking post extending, when the bag is closed, through both of said walls, locking posts extending, when the bag is closed, through both of said Walls on each side of but adjacent to the hollow post, the second-named posts being apertured, locking posts extending through both of said side walls at the lateral ends of the walls, a locking barrel formed and constructed to have locking engagement with the hollow locking post, and a sealing pin detachably disposed within the apertures of the second-named lateral posts located on each side of the hollow post and extending across the face of the locking barrel and preventing detachment of the locking barrel from the locking post, the pin having means whereby it may be sealed.

8. A bag having a front wall and a rear wall, a hollow locking post carried by one of said walls and extending, when the bag is closed, through the other of said walls, locking posts carried by one of said walls and extending, when the bag is closed, through both of said walls on each side of but adjacent to the hollow post, the secondnamed posts being apertured, a locking barrel formed and constructed to have locking engagement with the hollow locking post, and a sealing pin detachably disposed within the apertures of the second-named lateral posts and extending across the face of the locking barrel and preventing detachment of the locking barrel from the hollow post, the pin having means whereby it may be sealed.

ARTHUR C. STRAYER. 

